Our verdict on the previous version of the VW Transporter
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T30 says: "There's little to match the VW on the road. It's agile and secure, while keeping the driver well insulated. Only the gruff engine note lets it down."
It seems VW took our thoughts back to the engineers and told them to do something, because out have gone the old 1.9-litre four-cylinder and 2.5-litre five cylinder turbodiesels Pumpe Diise engines to be replaced by a new line-up of 2.0-litre common-rail four-cylinder units.
The revised engine range comes in four guises, namely 84,102, 140 and this, 180PS BiTDI.
The top-rated engine is fitted with two sequential turbochargers of different sizes. The smaller unit provides maximum torque at low speeds, while the larger unit delivers its boost higher up the rev range. The arrangement not only increases power output, but ensures a smooth and linear output, no matter what speed you are doing.
In addition to the engine choices. there are five body variants, namely the panel van, Kombi. Window van, Shuttle and chassis cab, and similar to previous incarnations, owners can choose between shortand longwheelbase variants, Don't forget, there are also three roof heights on offer as well: low (standard), medium and high-roof examples.
Just to confuse things further, the Transporter can also be specced in four different weights — from 2.6 tonnes through to 3.2 tonnes at the top end. Our test vehicle is, deep breath, a VW Transporter short-wheelbase panel-van low-roof T30 180PS BiTDI, which will cost £20,250.
In addition to the arrival of the new engine range. VW has also spruced up the exterior by adding new headlights (featuring daytime lights) and some slightly refreshed tail lights. Also new are the wing mirrors, which are not only more aerodynamic than before, hut also quite a bit larger for better visibility.
Prices for the latest line-up start at £15,700 for the 126 84PS version rising to £24,340 for the T30 180PS with DSG gearbox and 4Motion all-wheel drive.